Monday, September 3

I finally gave in

Bumper finally had her hair professionally cut this weekend, by a real hair stylist, in a real salon, in a real race car (not a real race car per se, but a race car nonetheless).

And she has a certificate, complete with first cut curl to prove it.

Actually, I kinda miss her before look, that look right there.

When I was in labour with Bump, during the pushing "fun times!" phase, the nurses, SB, and anyone else who had the chance to glance at my whoo-ha would say "that baby has some head of hair!".

Originally when organizing my birth plan and talking with the nurses, I had said no to having a mirror. To be completely honest (instead of the bundle of lies I usually feed you), my concern with having a mirror on my whoo-ha-ha was all ego talk. I was worried that I would become obsessed with how things looked down there instead of what was going on and staying in tune with my contractions.

Yet with each declaration about the hair, my decision to not sneak a peek crumbled to the temptation of seeing this burgeoning mane with my own eyes. The attending nurse offered to have someone get one and I eventually said yes.

A distraction was becoming more attractive as the pushing phase progressed, or should I say lack of progression.

I had been pushing for a long time - a really long time and there was very little baby-birthin' advancement going on. By the three and half hour mark, I knew we should be a lot closer. Bump hadn't moved very far in a really long time and all signs were pointing to stuck.

So every single time a person would talk about that hair, I wanted to see the baby instead of worrying about the time. No one else seemed concerned about how things were going and negative, worrisome thoughts had no place in this particular moment and soon to be memory (too late!).

I thought a lot about that hair, and the head that was attached to our baby instead of worrying about how long things were taking.

Turns out I was correct in my time concerns.

The mirror distraction never arrived but my doctor did. After a quick check of my status, doc informed us that a non-surgical manual method would be tried only once before beginning prep for a surgical one. Pushing had been going on too long without progression and although no one appeared in distress - yet - a section looked like the next step.

Thankfully the manual method worked (trust me kid, it hurt me just as much as it hurt you - maybe more) and Bump made her début.

She came out complete with the cutest little mullet you've ever seen.

What a good Canadian, eh? Hockey haircut from the get go.

Since she was born, her bangs have been cut twice by me and the rest has never been touched.

I love that hair, each curl that forms in the humid summer air, each strand that falls in her eyes.

But lately it looked messy regardless of brushing and styling. My latest attempt to trim her bangs resulted in a Ronnie meets New Wave/1980s look she couldn't really carry off ["oh mom", she would say if she could, "that's so twentieth century"].

So I gave in and took her for her first cut. Concerns about melt-downs, crying, and clinging - like our passport photo experience - were never realized and Bumper took her trim in stride.

No more mullet. The fringe is gone.

She has a hairstyle. It makes her look... well she looks tamer. Actually that's not it. She looks like a little girl.

I think we just closed another chapter in babyhood.

what? you've never seen a baby toddler drive before?

I can't believe it - there is not one photo of her smiling from this weekend without her wearing a hat. All the smiling photos from a wonderful birthday party we attended this weekend had Bumper wearing her hat. It figures this would be the first time she wears her hat for a prolonged period without the aid of double-sided tape (I kid!).

25 comments:

Chicky Chicky Baby said...

Usually I am all about the mullet, but Bumper looks so damn cute with her new do! In that picture it seems like she's all "Aw yeah, that's right. Who is cuter than me, huh? Nobody, that's who. Suckah."

Kyla said...

Oh Bumper! How you've grown! How do haircuts do that? It is amazing.

And the sweet wee mullet? *sigh* So cute.

I am sooo close to getting KayTar her first trim, so this was timely for me. I'm so nervous. Her curls! The peach fuzz that once covered her bald little head that I used to rub with my cheek while rocking her at night. *sob* See? I'm a wreck over this. But it does need a little trim, at least the back to even it out a touch.

Since Bump looks so adorable, I might take the plunge. Maybe. ;)

kittenpie said...

OMG! She looks so grownup, so beautiful! And a little like the illustrations from the Ramona books, which seems fitting, somehow...

pumpkinpie totally had the mullet from birth as well, and I trimmed her bangs and then the back until the sides caught up. I love bobs on little girls.

metro mama said...

Beautiful. I will miss the old look tho.

karengreeners said...

ok, she is totally so adorable that it's not even funny! But I'm telling you sistahfriend, cutting those bangs leads to a slippery slope of upkeep (or nokeep, as we chose).

My sister jokes that somewhere between weaning and kindergarten, every little girl's mother goes through the bangs debacle. It's a milestone, alright.

moplans said...

Oh so cute. I love the haircut. And the baby mullet awwww.
My girl had lots of hair too but the mullet developed a LARGE bald spot in the middle from the back-to-(not)sleeping. It was weird looking as she has very dark hair so I cut her hair early.
Also because I didn't want her to end up looking like her hippie cousins who never cut their hair and all look like girlz.

Gabriella said...

Oh my god MB, she is beautiful!!! I love the hair! Gorgeous!

Julie Marsh said...

Damn hormones have me tearing up.

She's beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Lookin' good!

ms blue said...

Her new haircut is very grown up! Now she'll have no problem getting into the bar.

Tania said...

Wow! What a change from just a haircut! She looks great (before and after), but haircut transformed her from baby to little girl!

Crystal D said...

Oh the new do is so fitting. She looks adorable. We just did the "bangs" thing my my Amelia last week, It makes them look so much older so fast.

Chris said...

She looks so grown up! Glad to hear it was such a good experience for the both of you.

Loved the Mr. Show reference.

Stimey said...

She's adorable. It's amazing how a haircut makes them look, like, 50 years older. At least with boys. She looks like a beautiful little girl.

crazymumma said...

Isn't it amazing what a haircut does?

OhTheJoys said...

She is too cute!!!

Anonymous said...

They look so grown up after that first cut don't they. She is a little grown-up cutie now.

*sigh* I still miss my girl's mullet. It used to curl into adorable little ringlets too. Now her hair is poker straight like mine. Still cute but way too grown up :)

Anonymous said...

she looks so cute, like a whole new girl! I think I cried during the first haircuts for both my kids. With my son it was because it seemed like such a big milestone, and with my daughter it was because she bawled and threw a tantrum the whole time.

JamesMommy said...

Adorable! My little guy had to start getting major cuts when he was about 6 weeks old (and he's very blonde, even). My Bump always be so peaceful at the salon :o)

Jenifer said...

She looks just adorable!!

I took my kids for haircuts today. Paige got 3 inches taken off and Cayden got his first cut, he went from hanging in his eyes wispy baby hair....to cool dude spikes! He turned into a little boy right before my eyes!!

mamatulip said...

She is GORGEOUS!! I LOVE her hair -- and I loved her mullet, too, btw. We are serious mullet-lovers over here...Oliver's rockin' the beginnings of a pretty serious mullet and there's part of me that doesn't want to cut it. Julia had a mullet for *ages* before I cut it off.

RIP Mullet...

Trenting said...

How stinkin' adorable is that! Very chic "strike a pose!"

Anonymous said...

SO incredibly cute!! Wow, look at that face!!!

My son's first haircut was at 11 months old. He was all about the hair. At that point, everyone around me was threatening to put his hair in barrettes. If he was a girl, his hair would be around his waist by now!!

Mimi said...

What is it about the hair, eh? I cut Munchkin's hair this weekend, and BAM she looked way older, too.

petite gourmand said...

awe she looks adorable!

we (meaning lulu) have yet to go under the scissors...my kid is starting to look like a wild hippie chick- so we might just have to get the name of that race car salon from you soon.

oh and welcome back!